外國人都是... Foreigners Are Like That...
As the Guggenheim Museum settles its Asian location in Taichung, the issue of museums is once again in public’s eye. Two years ago, the National Palace Museum gave an extraordinary exhibition, 300 years of French paintings including 65 oil paintings and 15 drawings, from Possin to Ce’zanne. It was able to put up this exhibition because the national government footed the bill. In fact, a large number of national museums are supported by their governments; therefore, they have little difficulty running such major exhibitions. In comparison, private nonprofit museums will have to raise funds on their own.
The Art Institute of Chicago, a well-known-and-respected nonprofit organization, for example, depends on membership fees, revenues generated from admission fees and sales of diverse gifts in the museum shops, donations from individuals along with corporations, and other contributions as their major sources of funding. Consequently, it has devised some aggressive strategies to strengthen this basis of funding. To being with, the institute offers a list of exclusive benefits to its members. They will get free preview tickets for phenomenal exhibitions. They also get discounts from the museum shops, restaurants, as well as subscriptions to member or art and culture magazines. The membership fee is tax deductible, so are the donations from an individual or corporations. The museum also encourages people to make special donations to honor a loved one or to celebrate an important occasion. It’s important for the institution to have sufficient income to cover the costs of maintaining and preserving the institute’s collection, but to run its rich variety of programs and special exhibitions calls for a large number of enthusiastic volunteers. So the museum organizes well-planned continuing education programs to train the volunteers.
In western countries, many unselfish people contribute their money, energy, and enthusiasm to nonprofit organization and causes, and because of that, these countries can continue with their work in the preservation of culture. In comparison, Taiwanese seem to be quite indifferent to such causes. With our rich cultural heritage, we really should devote more to the museums and other cultural activities.
As the Guggenheim Museum settles its Asian location in Taichung, the issue of museums is once again in public’s eye. Two years ago, the National Palace Museum gave an extraordinary exhibition, 300 years of French paintings including 65 oil paintings and 15 drawings, from Possin to Ce’zanne. It was able to put up this exhibition because the national government footed the bill. In fact, a large number of national museums are supported by their governments; therefore, they have little difficulty running such major exhibitions. In comparison, private nonprofit museums will have to raise funds on their own.
The Art Institute of Chicago, a well-known-and-respected nonprofit organization, for example, depends on membership fees, revenues generated from admission fees and sales of diverse gifts in the museum shops, donations from individuals along with corporations, and other contributions as their major sources of funding. Consequently, it has devised some aggressive strategies to strengthen this basis of funding. To being with, the institute offers a list of exclusive benefits to its members. They will get free preview tickets for phenomenal exhibitions. They also get discounts from the museum shops, restaurants, as well as subscriptions to member or art and culture magazines. The membership fee is tax deductible, so are the donations from an individual or corporations. The museum also encourages people to make special donations to honor a loved one or to celebrate an important occasion. It’s important for the institution to have sufficient income to cover the costs of maintaining and preserving the institute’s collection, but to run its rich variety of programs and special exhibitions calls for a large number of enthusiastic volunteers. So the museum organizes well-planned continuing education programs to train the volunteers.
In western countries, many unselfish people contribute their money, energy, and enthusiasm to nonprofit organization and causes, and because of that, these countries can continue with their work in the preservation of culture. In comparison, Taiwanese seem to be quite indifferent to such causes. With our rich cultural heritage, we really should devote more to the museums and other cultural activities.